Matthew 6:30-34 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? O you of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, “What shall we eat?” or, “What shall we drink?” or, “What shall we wear?” For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In Biblical Hebrew, the verb tenses are not like our “past”, “present”, and “future” – there are only two: “perfect” and “imperfect.” The “imperfect” tense is that which is not yet, not done, or not completed. The “perfect” is that which is done, complete, and finished.
The Bible speaks of things that are yet to come in the perfect tense as if they are already completed; (also called the “prophetic past”). God can have a finished work that hasn’t happened yet — for example, our salvation! In Messiah, we are a finished work that hasn’t happened yet. We are becoming what we are already in Him.
Yeshua (Jesus) instructed us to pray “on earth as it is in heaven.” Since we (believers) are born from above — from the finished, perfect work of God, we are already participating in His perfection, though we are still on earth doing His will.
So, reflect on this truth of your already complete perfection in Yeshua. You will look at your problems a little differently — actually, be less worried about them from this “Heavenly” point of view. You may still be working them out with fear and trembling, yet rest in this simple and amazing fact: in Yeshua, they are already resolved!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The prophet Elijah, through his dramatic demonstration of the LORD’s authority and power, inspired repentance in the people of Israel, calling them to exercise His judgment on idolaters by slaying 450 prophets of Ba’al and 400 prophets of Asherah on Mount Carmel. Yet this spiritual victory was followed by a severe demonic reprisal through the woman Jezebel.
The Hebrew calendar month of Elul began on Saturday night. Each day during the month of Elul, a shofar blast is sounded to announce the coming month of Tishrei – wherein the festival of Yom Teruah – the feast of trumpets– takes place, calling for all people to repent. Elul, therefore, is identified as a month during which a serious emphasis is placed on personal self-examination and repentance, an end-of-the-year opportunity to set our lives in order before Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashana), the Days of Awe, and finally, Yom Kippur.
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